Tomorrow's End - Parts 1 and 2
by SusieCues
Summary: The war comes to a head. Are Kiera, Carlos and Alec up for it? The intrepid trio is running out of time. How will it end? Does Kellog have the last laugh? Does Kiera go home, or remain in the past forever? Will Carlos ultimately lose the woman he loves? Series end.
1. Chapter 1

**Tomorrow's End - Part 1**

* * *

It was all wrong Carlos knew this in his gut. She didn't feel the same way, never really had. A man his age should have known better, should have taken to heart that the non-fraternization policy was in place for good reason. Although hurt, frustrated, he didn't fault her. She'd come to this time, a stranger in a strange, backwards environment, having to cope the best she could. All the while trying to keep everybody happy. When was it her turn to be happy again? What mattered most to Kiera was her kid, as it should be. She was Sam's mother and the boy, if he still lived, needed his mom. It was criminal for her son to be without his mother. A deep sense of loss, amalgamated with sadness, squeezed Carlos' heart. Whether Kiera could get back, or was doomed to live the rest of her days here, time would tell. He couldn't see himself abandoning her because, and it wasn't as bad as it might have sounded, she'd used him to get what she needed.

She'd also saved him from himself time and time again.

Her means to an end didn't make him want to spit in her face, walk away as though he'd never known her. She was, and always would be, his partner. If she still wanted him by her side, that was where he'd be. Kiera had had a job to do with the hand she'd been dealt. Working with her so closely, Carlos had fallen for her, hard. Had she asked him to? Of course not, that had been his own foolish idea. He felt like the biggest fool now, once imagining the rose-colored future they could have together.

How many times had he told himself: _How do you figure you're future-woman's type? Get over her._

Easier said than done. Even when she'd been with Kellog, and then Brad, he'd told himself she was going through some seriously confusing times, which she had been since day one. Helping her as best he could had been his way of saying we're in this together even though most of the time he'd had no idea what she was truly up against, and with whom. In the process, her determination, grit, fearlessness and moxie stole his heart.

In his own defense, justification abounded as to why he'd fallen as hard as he had. He'd had himself convinced that he would be settling for a drab, colorless life if Kiera wasn't in his.

Was there a way back from the nosedive he'd taken, loving her?

She'd promised they would make the travel into the future together. As things stood, not she, not he, definitely, would be making that trip. Alex was hopeful, but then, he often was, nothing new for him. The time-travel ball was still intact. Carlos was almost certain, not one hundred percent, that Kiera hadn't mentioned to the genius about having company for the journey. Carlos hoped Alec didn't know. He couldn't have the kid think he had lost his mind, thinking with another part of his body, like some hormonal romantic. Carlos believed Kiera when she'd said she wanted him to come with her that night on his couch, but in the hard light of today, with the body count staggering, that commitment rang hollow now. His flighty romantic notions died, blasted to smithereens, in the blown-out shell of VPD headquarters. Nora would have his guts for garters once the investigation was underway.

What had happened was unthinkable—and Brad had won! Kellog had escaped. Travis, dead, having given up his life to save Carlos'. Some things in all this hodgepodge were too impossible to accept.

Reeling, Carlos continued taking stock as he peered into Kiera's face that bore the sum total of this cataclysmic day. He loved her more than she loved him, more than she ever could. Though he'd deceived himself, he loved her still. As he'd once told her, "Always." No matter what the present and the future held, she was stuck with him until further notice.

As perplexed as she felt, undone too, but what was she supposed to have done, let Alec die, Kiera never once buckled under Carlos' stark scrutiny.

Even when he gruffly put the million dollar question to her: "Where is Kellog?"

There was no escaping his confusion and the deep-seated feeling of failure they exchanged. So many valiant people of the VPD who'd befriended her lay dead. As upset as Carlos, Kiera never flinched, not even once, as the helicopter spirited the slippery manipulator and head of Piron away, destination, unknown.

At least not yet.

They'd lost this battle, but the war had just begun...


	2. Chapter 2

She went back to where she belonged and found that what she'd been torn from had been altered, was profoundly not what she'd expected. What had nagged her ever since the other Kiera had been eliminated had come true. The realities of the 2077 she had known weren't the norms of the 2077 she'd returned to.

The biggest shock of all was Sam. The boy geriatric Alec showed her looked like him, acted like him, sounded exactly like her wonderful child. The thing was—the boy of this 2077 knew nothing about this woman who had returned to him. The woman who'd run to him was another Kiera; his mother of this revised timeline. Crushed, returned Kiera would never be able to reveal to this Sam, unacquainted with her, that she was indeed his mother.

It was a blow too shattering to bear, at first. But then, day-by-day, Kiera had tried to accept that she could never be a part of this Sam's life, not ever. She'd convinced herself that she could handle observing him, sublimating, loving him from afar. Her trying to do that was impossibly hard, and on those days when it was impossible, she'd nearly come too close to revealing who she was to the divergent boy.

That day in the park, she'd been watching that Sam hugging her, for lack of a better word, clone. The sight had gotten to her as never before and, on the verge of rushing to the boy, sweeping him up into her arms and carrying him off, Kiera ran all the way to her new apartment and cried her eyes dry.

She didn't emerge from her apartment for weeks. Desperate, distraught, sinking into depression, deeper and deeper, Kiera knew enough about this intolerable situation to realize that she had to make a change. Or go mad. A drastic, unalterable break with this current, unbearable situation was what had to be done. And she did. Vexed, sad, feeling as if she'd been cast adrift, she chose what she thought was best for this Sam's sake and for hers.

"You want to return to twenty-fifteen?" Geriatric Alec stared at her in stark disbelief. "Why? Why?" He shook his head, words failed to express his bewilderment. "This is the world we've worked for. Why do you feel you must flee it?"

"I don't belong here. Not anymore. This isn't what I left behind. The man who was my husband is married to someone else." When she tried speaking Sam's name, her voice caught. Choking, as her eyes filled with tears, she needed several moments to compose herself. "I have no son. That little boy isn't my child. He's another's. I can't face that anymore. It's driving me slowly and surely insane." Her lower lip quivered and her upper teeth dug into it, making the trembling stop. "I have my memories of my baby. He's the one I'll never forget. The one I will always cherish." As her tears fell, the tension subsided. She was getting it out, the frustration, anguish, rapier sharp pain. She just wanted to feel whole again.

"But, Kiera, we need you here. _I_ need you here. You have so much to give. So much to be rewarded for all your sacrifices." He stood from his chair, extending a hand. "Look out there. See all the progresses we've made. You made them possible, Protector."

Kiera wanted to scream, but she contained her rage. Yes, she'd made every one of those sacrifices for the sake of Sam. She would do it again, but the time for suppositions and postulations was past. She needed to get on with what would make her happy since the old promises, along with their aftermaths, had long been erased.

"I'm an anachronism here. There are no more Protectors. I need to be useful, not patronized. And you're right. I have made these present advancements possible." Sighing, Kiera met his eyes, filled with bright hope, with hers that beseeched he understand and grant her what only he could.

A way back to the time she'd left behind because she was truly needed there…

"It's possible they could be refined if you'll give me the chance."

"Are you sure, Kiera?" Geriatric Alec smiled at her in his familiar, fatherly way, ready to comply, or make a last plea that she change her mind if he asked her to one, last time.

She had been sure that day she'd asked, she was never more sure this day, the day of her return to the past.

And yet, again he asked her, "Kiera, are you positive this is what you want?"

Throwing her arms around geriatric Alec's neck a final time, she fervently replied, "I've never been more sure of anything. There's still so much more to do. This isn't the end, Alec. Only the beginning. I plan on knowing you for the rest of my life. Not just your work, but seeing the man you ultimately become." They hugged until she tapped the sides of his feather-light arms clad in tuxedo black for the occasion. They drank champagne, two glasses apiece, then threw them against the wall behind 2077 Alec. "Time to go." She prolonged the last hug she gave him.

Nodding, he said, "So it is…"

"Thank you, Alec."

"Farewell, Protector..."

And she went.

She was early. He could arrive here in the next second, or quite some time from now. But, here she would wait, until he came. A surprise, a pleasant one, for him she hoped. He'd wanted her to stay, yet in the end, had urged her to go, pick up where she'd left off, loving that special person, needing his mother. Giving herself back, such a rare gift she was, to her son.

The man, to whom she had told, embodied what a Protector was, hadn't been the same since his friend, ally, partner, had gone. He'd soldiered on, fighting the foes of this time, dedicating each hard-won victory to his idea of what a real woman was. Living, as she was, in his memory.

Tonight was a late night. He got home a little after eleven to find the last person he thought he'd ever see again camped out by his door sitting with her back against the wall with knees bent, she hugging them. Her head rested atop those shapely knees, her soft, long hair hung like a curtain, adorning her legs. She appeared to be dozing and, not wanting to startle her, he just stood there, amazed. Overjoyed. Quiet as a mouse.

Half-afraid he was hallucinating.

"K-Kiera?" He inched nearer to her, daring to touch the crown of her head to make sure she was real and not a figment of his burned out imagination.

Slowly, her head lifted from her knees. Seeing him again took her breath away. Not speaking, she smiled up at him, acknowledging how dumbfounding this must be. Softly, she said, "Hey…"

Shaking his head, giving her the impression he was clearing it, he replied, "You're back?" His smoldering dark eyes pierced her light, sobering ones. Dizzy suddenly, he swayed on his feet. The sensation passed quickly when she confirmed the obvious.

"I'm back."

He blinked. "To stay?"

"To stay…with you." She had never looked more compelling, knowing that she had made the only decision that made sense.

"I'm never letting you go."

"Will you keep that promise?"

He offered her his hand, which she grasped, and stood, gravitating to him like the moon to the earth. Instinctively, his hand anchored itself at the small of her back. "I got this." There was so much he thought he should ask, but he told himself there'd be time enough for that. He beguiled her as she surrendered to his pull, drawing her in. Locking her up in his protective arms, he threw away the key, hugging her as they'd hugged at the site where the VPD lay in ruins, which seemed a moment ago.

Their hands roamed seamlessly over each other, grounding themselves in this place and time.

"You always have," Kiera exhaled, feeling Carlos bury his lips in her glossy tresses. "Always will."

"Welcome home, sweetheart."

"It's good to be back."

Carlos unlocked his door, opening it wide, and Kiera looked as though she expected something out of the ordinary from him. Comfortably like old times.

"What?"

As she moved past him, she asked, "Why so late?"

"Nora's giving me grief."

"I bet."

He kicked the door shut, scooped her up in his arms and replied, "If I'm dreaming, this is the best dream I've ever had."

Cupping his cheek, caressing its scruffy surface with her thumb, in the same way she had when they'd said goodbye, Kiera answered, "Me too."

He rubbed his nose against her porcelain-like cheek. "Here's some reality for ya: Kellog's back too."

Her eyes as round as saucers, Kiera exclaimed, "How?"

Was it ever complicated, like the entire space, time, continuum thing. "You'll have to ask Alec about that," he confessed, resting his head on her shoulder, prolonging having her in his arms. She, here in his home, again; this was the best.

He was dead serious about his promise. He was _never_ letting her go. Tomorrow, if she consented, he'd see about showing her just how much he needed, cherished her, once and for all.

Not getting the hint, Kiera wondered what had come over him.

"What's that you're humming?"

"Beyoncé."

"Huh?"

"Her song."

"What song?"

" _'Single Ladies_.'" He sang, and Kiera deadpanned. "'Cause if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it...'"

She shot him a look, pointblank. "Carlos?"

"I like. I like, like crazy. Yeah. That is if you want to..."

"Only if I pick out our rings."

He set her down, gathering her hands into his like a bunch of flowers. Abruptly, he sank to one knee. "That's what single ladies do."

"Looks like I won't be one for long, Partner."

Whisking her into his arms once more, he shouted, "I've waited a long time for you."

"Me too, for you." She hesitated before asking.

"What?"

"You're tired. It can wait till tomorrow."

"What?"

"Can we go see Alec?"

"You drive. I'm shotgun."

Smiling, Kiera waited for him to put her on her feet again. "You're amazing."

"I have my moments." He held the door open for her.

"Lots of them."

"You, lots more." He stifled his yawn, devotedly following right behind her. "He'll flip when he sees you, and then we'll tell him the good news."

"Unless you have someone else in mind...could he be the best man?"

Nodding, Carlos said, "Who else?"

As they waited for the elevator, he had an idea he hoped she'd go for. She was his adrenaline, a jolt to his system, dispelling any fatigue slowing him down.

"Are you up for something?"

"Like what?" Kiera asked inquisitively.

"In a movie theater near here they're going to show a picture I think you'll like. Alec too; I know he's seen it. He'll want to see it again, especially for the date it's going to be at the stroke of midnight. Hey, he'll probably say something about it when we see him. It'll be playing throughout the day in honor of October twenty-first, twenty-fifteen."

Thoughtfully, Kiera asked, "What's the name of this picture?"

" _Back To The Future_." His eyes danced playfully. His grin, insuppressible. He saw she was taken aback.

"Hmm," was all she said, looking at him intensely, then asked, "what's so important about October twenty-first, twenty-fifteen?"

"You'll see," he answered sounding cryptic.

The elevator came and, going inside, they disappeared.

Fin


End file.
